The further down they went, the wider their field of vision became. Although the reddish glow was somewhat unsettling, their attention was quickly drawn to the scene before them.
They saw a 'kingdom,' a miniature kingdom.
The stone sculptures depict towering mountains, rivers, lakes, and pavilions, with lifelike miniature figures on every road, their faces etched with human emotions—a miniature version of ancient society.
"This, this is..."
"uncanny workmanship……"
What exquisite skill it must have taken to carve such a vibrant 'world'! Even by modern standards, such craftsmanship would be quite spectacular, especially considering the sheer size of the area.
The people who came down one after another did so in order not to damage the kingdom in front of them, either standing on one leg or on the 'plain' or other flat places, making their actions look quite comical at first glance.
Xu Qian raised his gaze and noticed a series of protruding stone pillars on both sides. The workmanship was smooth, and the patterns carved on the front were the same as those on the stone gate under the waterfall.
He thought for a moment, then used the stone wall to jump up. He saw a layer of oily sheen at the bottom of the stone pillar's grooves, which was indeed used for lighting fires.
Xu Qian successfully lit the fire, and following the extended line of the ravine, the entire kingdom was completely illuminated.
"Professor Shen, come and see this!"
Following the sound, everyone looked and saw Assistant Zhang pointing to a 'volcanic ruin'. It was a man-made ruin, and judging from the meaning of the image, it was connected to the murals above.
"The descent of the god of disaster..." Professor Shen suddenly became excited, his dark, thin face revealing a pair of radiant eyes.
As soon as he finished speaking, Professor Shen seemed to be possessed, constantly muttering "God of Disaster," and no one could stop him.
Professor Shen wasn't the only one behaving strangely; Zuo Yu, who had been under Xu Qian's close watch, also started acting strangely, his face turning deathly pale and his body beginning to sway.
"A-Yu—"
In a daze, Xu Qian seemed to see those little people. They began to move, and the expressions carved on the stone statues became more and more distorted, as if they were about to jump out.
Xu Qian shook his head, but his brain became increasingly dizzy until he heard a voice calling "Xiao Mao" in his ear, at which point he finally collapsed.
At the same time, Qin You, who was attending class at school, also couldn't help but collapse.
"Hey, Lao Qin—"
"Qin You—"
Meng Liangchen learned of Qin You's fainting during class. No, to be precise, the news of Qin You's fainting spread throughout the entire school immediately, after all, the power of a fangirl to spread the word is enormous.
"Old He, can you ask for leave for me this afternoon? I'm going to see my brother." Meng Liangchen threw the book into his bag, not bothering to explain, and turned to run away.
"Ah... okay."
On the way to the hospital, Meng Liangchen quickly called his brother and told him about Qin You's situation at school. He suspected that... something had happened to Xu Qian.
On the other end, Meng Ziqiu immediately contacted Xu Qian after hanging up the phone, but as expected, there was no response. The next second, Meng Ziqiu called Xiao Qing directly, and the first thing he said was that Brother Xu was in trouble.
“I’m going to find him,” Xiaoqing said.
After hanging up the phone, Meng Ziqiu remained uneasy. He never imagined that someone as powerful as Xu Qian would encounter such an accident, and more importantly, he still didn't know what had happened to him.
After much deliberation, Meng Ziqiu had no choice but to force himself to calm down for the time being. He needed to go to the hospital to see Qin You.
Meanwhile, those outside the curtain cave discovered they could no longer contact the team inside, and in a panic, they sent another team in to check the situation.
While everyone was worried about them, the people below the Red Firefly Cave were experiencing an unprecedented adventure.
***
The dim light shone on my body, but it had no warmth whatsoever.
Xu Qian wasn't sure if the sun in front of him was the sun, because it was so cold. Pale yellow is a color that usually brings warmth, but it felt especially cold right now, and even his breath felt icy.
When he woke up, he found himself in this place. All he could see was the icy sun hanging in the sky and endless ruins. Looking down, he saw that the dark rocks were covered with tiny, dense bubbles, which were igneous rocks formed after the eruption of magma.
He didn't know how long he had walked, it seemed like there was no end in sight, but apart from walking forward, Xu Qian couldn't think of anything else he should do. He had only one thought in his mind—keep walking forward.
As he walked forward step by step, the temperature of the surrounding environment began to change, and signs of life appeared in the cracks in the rocks on both sides, although it was just a wild grass.
He glanced at it, then continued walking.
After the wild grass comes the rain, a heavy rain that carries warmth.
Xu Qian subconsciously looked back and saw that the wild grass had grown into a big tree, its lush green appearance full of vitality, which made him smile knowingly.
If you continue walking, you will come to a lake, and animals will appear on the shore, although they look a bit strange.
Finally, there is humanity.
Xu Qian watched them begin to establish a primitive society, then gradually move beyond a slave society, and finally enter a feudal society.
The world was probably established in a similar way in the beginning, with each stage having its own significance, even though they seem so backward from today's perspective.
Seeing this, Xu Qian withdrew his attention from the small world, because a row of steps had appeared in front of him.
Without much hesitation, he climbed up.
The steps, one after another, led straight up to the sky. He didn't know when he would stop or where the end was; he just kept repeating one action—climbing upwards.
Finally, a bright and flat white jade platform appeared before them.
Xu Qian found it hard to describe the scene; it was like a fairyland seen in a TV series, and it was created by a team with top-notch special effects.
Looking up, there was a person standing on the jade platform; judging from the figure, it should be a woman.
Xu Qian paused for a second, his mind blank, but his legs moved forward against his will.
At that moment, she turned around.
How can one describe it in words? It was a pair of extremely indifferent eyes, empty of everything, devoid of joy or sorrow, like the white snow on a lonely mountain, cold and devoid of any warmth.
Xu Qian recognized the face's name—Zhong Lilan.
Her face was Zhong Lilan's, but she wasn't him; this person wasn't his master.
For some reason, Xu Qian felt an urge to back away; he really didn't want to face the person in front of him.
Strangely, his legs were completely immobile, yet he kept walking forward.
I walked right up to her and stood face to face with her, the distance between us less than half a meter.
What exactly do I want to do?
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